Right Time, Right Place, Right Lucky Paradegoer Breaks Woman's 40-foot Fall

November 28, 1986|By New York Daily News

NEW YORK — Dennis Egan heard the gasp from the crowd before something from above struck him.

The ''something'' was Diana Mullman, 45, of Manhattan, who fell 40 feet from a fourth-story window ledge at 9:11 a.m. Thursday while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Miraculously, police said, Mullman's life was saved when she landed on Egan, 39, a Westfield, N.J., resident, who needed eight stitches to close a head wound but was otherwise ''just fine.''

Mullman broke several ribs but was in stable condition at Roosevelt Hospital.

Egan, a researcher for Bell Communications in Morristown, N.J., said he and five of his six children were watching the parade on Central Park West.

''It's a little bit of a tradition for us and for our neighbors, the Pryors, who were with us,'' said Egan later Thursday as he prepared to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner delayed somewhat by a trip to the hospital.

''The parade was just starting,'' said Egan. ''The lead car was just coming down and I was holding Danny, my 3-year-old, in front of me so he could see over the crowd.''

Four stories above him at the Prasada, a building at 50 Central Park West, Mullman was sitting and watching the festivities on a narrow window ledge outside the home of a friend, Morton Teich.

Police said Mullman might have dropped a camera she was using and as she went to reach for it, she toppled off the ledge.

Egan's oldest son, Patrick, 15, said, he ''saw a stool come down, and then what looked like a camera and then the woman.''

As Egan was struck, Patrick caught Danny, who was uninjured as were members of the Pryor family who felt the women graze them as she landed.

''It looked like a dummy was falling down,'' said Dr. Sheldon Greenspan, who was in the crowd. ''She came down in a heap. Everyone screamed.''

Egan said that as he and Mullman shared an ambulance ride to Roosevelt Hospital, ''She was complaining about her ribs and wasn't really sure what happened. I wasn't sure what happened either, but if I had anything to do with breaking her fall, I'm glad.''

His son, Danny, however, was feeling very sad, Egan said.

''His balloon broke during the incident,'' said Egan. ''He's been crying about it all day.''

Egan said he'll still take his kids to the parade next year.

''I think I'll stand on the other side of the street next time,'' he said.